Fly
by Smokey Lonesome
Summary: Before the events of Final Fantasy 12, in a world changing a Viera begins it's journey to discover it and a man flees to the skies to escape it. BaltheirFran Pregame.
1. For a Better Tomarrow

**A/n: **Eats previously said words No worries. I've never not finished a story. Did anyone else know that Bathier's real name is Ffamran? I WTF'd at that earlier…

**Disclaimer:** The stuff and characters in this story belongs to Le Square Enix. Yah dig me?

_In many years past…_

Fran walked the path of the Golmore Jungle. Her armored boots let out a hallow thunk on the twisted thick branches that served as a path for the wood dwelling Viera. Fran looked up at the holes in the treetops where sunlight struggled through. An airship blasted above the treetops making the birds flutter from the branches and leaving a white tail behind it.

Hume airships had been seen flying over the wood on a regular basis these days. Her mother told her stories of a time were the skies were left undisturbed by Humes. She spoke of a time when the Viera would not have to hide their village from the adventurous Humes.

Fran continued on her duty to protect Eruyt Village from any fiends that would pose a danger to the barrier. That was what her job was, but her real duty was to shoo off any Hume who dared enter their sacred forest. She heard the boom of another Airship above her.

"Fran!" Mjrn called out as she rounded a curve in the path. "It's mother, you must come now!" Fran slung her bow over her back and took off through the forest with her youngest sister.

Fran's mother was the leader of Eruyt village and the eldest among the Viera. Jote, Mjrn, and Fran were constantly told that they were blessed to be bore from such a wise woman. However, age had caught up with her. Even though Viera lived long lives they were not immune to the effects of time. She had been slowly dieing, and Fran suspected that today she would lose her battle with time.

Fran and Mjrn walked through the majestic Viera village and arrived at their mother's side where Jote awaited them.

"She grows weaker with each passing minute." Jote said averting her gaze from her two sisters. Their mother weakly beckoned them to her side.

"All…my girls…This may be the last time I see you with these eyes." She spoke weakly smiling at them. Jote moved a piece of white hair from her dark sweaty face and placed her hands on her mothers'. A tear slipped from Mjrns' larger brown eyes.

"Do not cry my child. I only return to the forest to keep watch over my children." Their mother reached up and dried Mjrn's face with her hand. Fran sat at the foot of her mother's bed and listened to the forests' words. Her mother would soon join it. The forest wanted its most favored child back.

Fran watched her mother cringe. Her eyes seemed to be slowly closing each minute. The voices of the forest seemed to grow louder until it was a dull roar in her ears. Outside the other Viera gathered around after hearing the words of the Wood.

"My children…Ivalice changes around us, I pray the Viera grow well with it." The elderly woman whispered with her last breathe. Her body stopped moving and her eyes remained shut. Jote rearranged her mother's hands so that they rested on her body. As Jote was the eldest of them she was now the leader of Eruyt village.

The three sisters exited the hut and went away from the Viera group. Two young women went in to prepare the body to be returned to the wood. None said anything to each other for a long while. Jote, Fran, and Mjrn looked at each other, the sadness evident in their eyes. Fran turned away from her sisters and went back to the wood.

"Fran?" Mjrn called out suddenly. Jote placed her hand on the smaller Viera girl's shoulder.

"She will deal with this as she wills. It has been her way." Jote felt her sister's arms wrap around her. "As this is your way."

Fran walked to the wood and sat on a small tree branch. The funeral for her mother would be held in the evening, and all Viera would spend the day grieving. Fran, however, did not know how to grieve. Nor how to deal with this aching she felt. The one thing she did know how to do was to protect the entrance of Eruyt Village from any beasts that dare go near it on such a solemn day.

Fran shot down a beast and it fell within three arrows. An Airship rustled the leaves above her. Fran looked up at the blue cloudless sky. At this time she began to think of her mother's last words. The sky above her had changed since she was born. The first day she saw an airship she was but a small girl. It had frightened her greatly. Her mother had taking her in her arms and told her to not be afraid. She told her that the world was changing and it would lead to a better tomorrow for Viera.

"Fran." A voice called her name. She slid down from her tree branch and faced Jote. "It's time."

Fran returned for the funeral at the centre of town, which was filled with light pink and white flowers that the wood as blessed them with. A hole was bore into the ground where they now lay her mother. The Viera stepped back and watched the branches of the wood leach over her body. The branches completely consumed it and flowers began to grow from them. The Viera started to go home to their huts one by one. Fran soon found herself the only one there. The sky was growing darker by the minute. The words of the wood calmed her greatly. They soothed her of the pain of her loss.

Fran looked to the sky and shut the words of the wood out again. In the silence she began to feel that ache again. Listening to the wood she had felt nothing. It hypnotized her.

"_Ivalice is changing….I pray the Viera grow well with it."_

The words echoed in her head. What was happening in Ivalice? How was it changing? Was it good? Or Bad?

The Viera were sheltered from finding out the answers to these questions. Their forest protected them, but it also sheltered them.

" It's time to come home." Jote said to her younger sister, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Fran looked at her.

"Jote, have you ever wanted to venture outside this forest?" She asked her older sister with genuine curiosity.

"It was a passing curiosity. It is the Viera whom protect the wood." Jote said sternly worrying about the thoughts in her sisters' head.

"But there is so much of the world we miss." Fran said almost frantically, grabbing hold of her sister. "It is changing, but for the good, or the bad?" Jote looked away.

"As I thought…" Fran said quietly releasing her sister. "Jote, my sister, I will be leaving tonight after Mjrn sleeps." Jote studied her. She was truly worried about her sister. If a Viera were to stray from the wood for too long the voices would abandon the wayfarer. Her sister would not be allowed to return if this happened.

"You know this means…" Jote started.

"I know." Fran said. She walked towards the hut that the sister's shared. "I must find out."


	2. Will Bring Better Days

**A/n:** …AHA! I finally figured out the correct spelling of Balthier. I had to go fetch the booklet for that one. And as it turns out I've been spelling Archadia wrong too…Ok, ok. The chapter you've been waiting for. The Balthier chapter. Yeah, yeah. I know you have no love for Fran at all, srrsly.

**Disclaimer:** Square Enix owns all except a fair chunk of this storys' plot.

* * *

_48 years after our young Viera left…_

Doctor Cid worked vigorously in his lab walking in between his assistants and writing down progress levels on pieces of stray paper. Smiling, he pushed his spectacles further up on his shapely nose. Everything had been going swimmingly for him. A hollow whoosh echoed through the room causing the workers to look towards the door. In the doorway a judge marched in with his armor clanging with each step.

"Ah, Ffamran my boy! Come! Let me show you something…Eh…" Cid stopped to ponder, "Magnificant!"

The judge removed his helmet and walked towards his father. His hair was peppered with blonde streaks and his on his face lay the confident smirk that came only with the days of youth. His father rounded on him and ushered the boy over to a black clothe curtain with a panel sticking out from beneath it's slit.

"This is our future with the grand power of the Nethicite!" Cid pulled the curtain revealing a man inside a cylinder. The judge sneered as he looked the man over. The tint of the glass made his skin look a ghastly green. The man's flesh skin was pulled tight over his muscles and seemed to have hardened around him like a shell. His eyelids were pealed back, only the whites of his eyes could be seen. Ffamran stood in silence. He frowned at the cylinder. Was this really what Cid wanted Arcadia's military to look like?

"Look at these statistics!" Cid motioned to the screen beside the tube. "Why ten of these could destroy a nation!" Ffamran glared daggers at his father.

"Did Emperor Gramis approve this?" He whispered cautiously to his father.

"Not quite yet, but he won't hold out long." Cid pulled the curtain closed and whipped out a clipboard from behind him.

"I see." Ffamran walked away from his father's experiment frowning. He had called him from his patrol just to show off his new toy. It was sick what he did to people. However, the bodies were already dead, so Ffamran could never find much objection to it. He could never see his father hurting anyone. Ffamran just worried that Cid would let his experiments do the hurting for him.

The young judge walked the hallways of the Draklor laboratories and placed his heavy helmet back over his head. His job was to keep outside civilians from finding out what went on in here. There really was no job to do. Archadia had a lot of security around this place, but no one ever tried to get in. Ffamran had been stationed here for one reason, his father had pulled strings to make him a judge. Since his father was head of this laboratory it seemed right to place him here. Ffamran himself had little to do with his promotion to imperial Judge. He didn't even have that much to do with being put in the military. His career was more in his father's hands than his. Though he gave little objection to it. Before his father had pulled strings to make him a Judge he had not known what he wanted to devote his life to. Certainly he wasn't ready to devote his life to becoming a good judge. However, until he found his true passion in life appeasing his father suited him just fine.

There was however one thing Ffamran did love., theater. His mother whom had passed in his younger years had been an actress. She was never a particularly famous one, as she only pursued it for a short while. After she met his father she took up work in Draklor. Even though his mother worked late she was always full of energy and took him to the Theatre often. He had developed a love for it at a very young age because of this. The young judge stopped in front of the bulletin board in the main hallway. He ran his finger over the large printed lettering on a fresh piece of parchment. A new Bronze Garte show was playing tonight.

Bronze Garte was an older series of plays exclusive to Archadia in which the hero, Balthier, always fought and talked his way out of the most dangerous situations. The people of Archadia didn't have much love for Bronze Garte anymore. Most would say they were over dramatic, so much so that they ended up being humorous. Ffamran had developed an interest in them though. He could look past the other characters' atrocious acting, but Balthier was always perfectly in character.

"What's that you're lookin' at?" A judge asked looking over Ffamrans' shoulder. Three other judges stood impatiently behind him. Ffamran had just recently been promoted and hadn't really made an effort to befriend the other judges around. They weren't exactly his type of people. Every night he saw most of them at the Tavern drinking themselves silly. At work they were wild due to the lack of any real discipline to keep them in order.

"Another bloody Bronze Garte play? Holy Hell!" He swore in amazement, looking back at his buddies to see if they had heard him. "I thought they'd given up on that flop!" Suddenly the senior guard dramatically jumped into the hallway and drew his blade.

"Draw your weapon, foul swine!" He mocked, thrusting his sword forward into air. He drew his sword back and faked an arrogant laugh as he returned it to his sheath.

"Fool! The lead man never dies!" The men around him roared with laughter as he further mocked lines from Balthier's many plays. Eventually Ffamran got sick of listening to them and strolled off. He didn't take it too personally; they had gotten most of his lines wrong anyway. Ffamran decided he would go see that play tonight. It had been awhile since he'd gone out. Most nights his father requested that he joined him at Draklor. Ffamran often refused this, but Cid would just keep on insisting. His father was always trying to push the wonders of Nethicite on him.

As if on queue, Cidolfus paced out of one for his many laboratories in a huff. He walked across the hallway and then turned quickly back towards the door. He shook his head and walked away from it again.

He irritably growled, "You silly little girl!"

"Excuse me?" Cid looked up at his son whom had taken it as an insult to be called a 'Silly little girl'.

"Ah, never you mind that. Some people just don't understand things like you and I." Cid draped his arm around his sons' shoulder and patted his armored chest proudly. Ffamran couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with his fathers' newfound affection towards him.

"How about I take you out for a meal tonight?" The graying scientist offered. "Just you and me?" He patted Ffamran's shoulder and removed his arm. He couldn't help but agree with his father's request. It was not often he offered to treat him to anything.

A door whooshed open behind them and a black haired woman stepped out, "Cidolfus, a word please?"

"Of course. Best be off. Meet me here in about an hour, would you?" Ffamran sighed as his father walked into the darkened room. He could read his father's intentions all too well. He planned to have him stay there and help him by offering a false promise. As it was too late to take back his answer the young judge continued on his dismal patrol.

He returned to that hallway later in the night. He was running late because a janitor had already locked up the main hallway, but he figured his father would've been late anyway. The hallway was dimmed and the sun outside the windows had far faded out behind the city. The judge stood beside the door waiting for his father to reappear. The longer he waited the more discontent he grew. At this rate Ffamran would surely miss his play. A pair of Judges walked by and eyeballed him loitering by the door. He removed his helmet after they passed and set it by his feet. His hair was damp from his breathe on the inside of his helmet and his face perspired slightly from the weight of the armor. Ffamran wiped his face down with his handkerchief when he heard a loud clang from the inside of the Laboratory. The noises continued from the inside. Ffamran drew his sword and tapped the open button on the door. The door made an effort to open, but did not. It was either stuck or blocked by something on the other side. He nudged his armor clad hand into the crack of the doorway and tugged at the door with rough jerks. The well lubricated door didn't even squeak as he opened it just enough to see what was happening inside.

"How could you say that about this thing of such beauty!" Cid yelled at the black haired female scientist cowering away from him on the floor. A streak of blood ran down her face. Cid stepped away from the woman with his hand behind his back. Ffamran forced the door open wider as he saw his father tap buttons on the cylinder that held that awful nethicite fiend.

"What are you doing?" Ffamran grunted as he stepped over the fallen storage shelf blocking the doorway.

"A judge? Thank God. Doctor Cid has gone mad!" The woman scurried towards the shocked Ffamran's feet. The water inside the cylinder began to bubble and drain. Cid laughed as he pressed he face up against the glass.

"Let us test the fruits of my labor." Cid reached to the ground and grabbed the woman by the hair.

The room was silent for a moment. Cid stared intently at his newly born creation, which stood as still as death. He held the woman tightly by her hair and made sure she was watching. Its body suddenly convulsed and its cold black eyes rolled into view for the first time. The beast raised its hand and seemed to be turning before whirling around with a fierce punch. The glass shattered and sprayed the room. Ffamran shielded his face with his arm. He could hear his father laughing. The being stepped unto the floor, with broken glass crackling beneath his feet.

Cid adored every moment of his child's birth. A grin had spread across his face as he hoisted the wounded woman up towards him. The monster groaned and tilted his head. His stiff arm reached out slowly then suddenly grasped her tightly by her forearm. She let out a howl of pain as it lifted her up towards the ceiling. He was pulling his other arm back when Ffamran drew his sword and pierced the brute's exposed elbow. He dropped the woman quickly and grabbed the blade.

"What are you doing!?" Cid exclaimed as he started at his son. Ffamran glared at him. The woman on the ground was beginning to crawl away. In defiance, he thrust the blade further into the nethicite monster's elbow. The monster squeezed the blade tighter until he it shattered. The brute pulled the severed piece of twisted metal from his arm and looked at it in his large palm. Ffamran backed away. Cid ran over to the monster and looked at the wound. The beast swung his arm, sending Cid flying back onto a stack of equipment. Ffamran started to run towards his wounded father when he felt a tap at the side of his armor. The scientist was handing a gun up to him. A small shotgun, but he knew what she meant him to do with it. Ffamran had no problem with the task. He gripped the gun with one hand and pointed it at his father's foulest creation.

"No!" His father hissed from where he lay in the corner covering his twisted broken arm. "This is progress!"

Ffamran looked at his father then at the beast. He raised the gun once more. "No Doctor, this is madness." He pulled the trigger and a spray of bullets hit the creature. It had raised its massive arm to protect itself but the pellets had still wounded his head. The young Judge pulled the trigger again until the creature sunk to the floor. He stood over it and placed the barrel on its head. Cid leapt at him and pushed the barrel away from his precious creature. Cid appeared to be…crying.

He whimpered over the head of the dark hardened creatures' huge frame. It was then that Ffamran realized just how much nethicite meant to his father. It was worth killing, worth being wounded, and worst of all worth the life of his son. Cid looked up and his glasses fell to the end of their chain. His face was red and streamed with hot tears. This unsettled Ffamran even more. Quickly Cid pulled something from his pocket and Ffamran heard a loud crackling screech. The scientist, whom had been resting beside him lay on the floor with a pool of dark red ooze forming around what had been her face. The bottom half of Ffamran's armor was speckled in red.

He backed away from the body with inexplicable shock. His mouth felt dry and his eyes felt as if they could pop from out his skull. He was baffled at what had just happened. Had his father really just killed someone? Killed someone over what? A stupid dead brute?

"I-I best be…Off." The last word came out unsteadily as Ffamran backed out of the room. He tripped over the fallen storage shelf and rolled out into the hallway. His father didn't even look his direction. The shaken man got up and ran down the hallways, his previous plans for the evening forgotten. He stopped running once he was outside of Draklor. Ffamran hunched over and took fast unsteady breathes. His leg armor was still dripping blood. He grunted as he ripped at the leather straps and threw his armor piece by piece into the street. There was no one near Draklor this time of night so the loud clangs did not attract much attention. Ffamran wore only the clothes he had put on under his armor, a white dress shirt and brown pants. He sank over and held is aching head. The image of that body and his fathers face flashed in his head like a horrid slideshow.

Ffamran still carried the shotgun the dead woman had handed him. He looked at it. There was still a few shots left. Ffamrans' hands shook as he unknowingly walked down the stairs to Old Archades. The guards watched him but said nothing. He turned the corner and stopped. He felt ill and dizzy all of the sudden. Ffamran sat down in the cold dark alley. Soon he slumped over onto the ground and a few minutes later he…Slept.

* * *

Ffamran breathed in heavily and started coughing from inhaling the dust off the sandstone. He rolled onto his back and started to rub his he head furiously. His body ached as he sat up, two old men stared him the face. He let out a surprised gasp and tightened his back against the wall. The two old men grinned at him. They were both dressed in filthy rags. One had wispy white hair that seemed to be reaching towards the sky. The other was hunched over and missing several yellow teeth in his toothy grin.

" 'ehyeh? Fin'lly gonna wake up den?" The nearly toothless man sputtered at him. "Whut'cher name lad?" Ffamran watched a bit of drool slip down the side of his mouth. He left out a loud slurp as he wiped it away.

"Ain'tcha gonna answer? Yah ain't got a name?" The other geezer said leaning forwards and examining him through squinted slits of eyes. Ffamran squirmed a little. The men seemed to be leaning closer to him with each badly formed sentence.

"It's Balthier" Ffamran lied.

"Like dah play?" The arched old man said tilting his head so that he could scratch a mole on his neck. "Tain't heared 'bout dat one in eh long time."

"Nah, he's liein' I can tell. I guess a man always got a reason ter hide his name." Balthier rubbed his head. That thin old man was good. He had already scooped up his gun and had it set in his lap.

"Oh? Yah want yer gun back den? Someone wuz tryin' tah steal it earlier." The whispy haired man noticed Balthier staring at it. He handed Balthier his gun which he quickly hugged close to his chest. The men studied him. Balthier began to get up and the old men followed him. He started to walk across the busy street and they followed him. Finally growing nervous and slightly irritated he turned around. Balthier was short for a twenty year old but the two old men barely came up chest high. The plumper hunched over man had a rucksack hung over his back and beamed up at him with bright blue eyes. The other stood upright and smiled at him making his jowels form curves around his lips.

:Ok, what do you guys want?" Balthier slung his gun up on his shoulder and frowned down at them.

"Oh yeah. He plays a good Balthier alright." The scrawny elder said looking at his round companion.

"Come on Lad, Do yer famous 'un for us. Wez promise wez stop followin' yah." He stuttered beamed at him like a child. Balthier knew what they meant. It was the same line that the Judges had mocked the day before, Balthier's signature quote. Balthier stepped back and slid his foot smoothly along the ground. He pointed the gun down at the old men and said.

"The lead man never dies!" with such vigor that the old men chortled with glee. An imperial guard walked by the alley and looked at the scene.

"You there!" he hollered, drawing his sword. Balthier hesitated before he turned and ran off. The two old men hobbled away in the other direction. Balthier let out a scoff at how they had abandoned him. He climbed up onto a crate then scurried up onto another until he found himself up on a roof top. The guard ran past him and he rolled over onto his back.

That was actually sort of fun. Balthier couldn't remember having that much fun in the past two years. Perhaps being here would be a good thing for him. Balthier thought about what his father was doing right now. Quickly he sat up and shook the thought from his head. This was the right place for him. He knew it. Perhaps he could make a living as a thief. He knew the inside of Archadia like the back of his scuffed hand.

Balthier picked up and gun and held the golden embellished weapon in his hand. The Bathlier in the plays had always been cast as a pirate of the seas. He had the thought that maybe he could be a pirate of the skies.

A/n: OH GAWD. That was long. Oh and the Dialogue near the end was meant to be stupidly, humorously bad….yeah. Redneck blood kicking in.


	3. That Take to the Skies

A/n: Lol, I now write this after finishing and proofreading the chapter. I now officially do not know what's going to happen next. Me thinks I'll think on that this weekend. Something will come to me. No worries. No worries!

Disclaimer: I don't own this. Well yes, I own the story, but not the rest of this.

Balthier walked confidently down the streets of Old Archades. Two months had passed since he ran from his position of power and ended up down here. He ran his fingers through his golden brown hair and greeted a few familiar faces. He hadn't been here long, but he had earned himself a well known, and sometimes bad reputation. He was notorious for crimes up in Archades these days. It had been weeks since the thought of his father had crossed his mind. His life was running well for him, however, things were beginning to grown duller. The thrill of stealing from the upper class had lost some of its amusement for him. He had made a substantial amount of money from doing it, but there was something missing.

Balthier walked into a weapons shop and greeted an old friend. It was the man with white wispy hair whom had greeted him on his arrival in Old Archades. Not the best greeting, as he ended up being chased by guards. His name was Rubbard and he was the grandfather of the woman that used to own this weapon shop. However, she had long since abandoned it and he ran it completely now. Rubbard repaid Balthier by giving him a new gun and fixing it regularly.

"Rubbie, I seem to have a problem." Balthier said forcefully laying his gun on the table. "She's broken on me. Again."

The old man rubbed his hand over the corners of his mouth and eyed the gun. He placed the barrel right up against his eye and looked down it. Balthier shook his fat money pouch and Rubbard beckoned him to the backroom.

"It's filthy! You've jammed it ag'in Balthier." Rubbard slurred loudly as he tossed the gun back to his young friend. He handed him some cleaning cloth and a ramrod. "Fix it yerself."

Balthier smirked and took a seat at the table which had been cleared except for a small round chisel and an amulet mould.

"Say, Rubbard. I've been thinking of getting out of here." Balthier said as he wrapped the soft cloth around the tip of the ramrod and shoved it down into the grimy barrel.

"Well da only way out is either up…" The old man pointed up towards the ceiling. "Or down." His hand pointed to the stairwell to the Sochen Caverns. Balthier pulled the ramrod out roughly and set it and his gun down on the table. He lifted his feet up and set them down on the old wooden table casuing it to creak and wobble slightly.

"I was thinking I'd take the sky." He said, tilting his chair back on two legs.

"Da sky?"

"You know anyone that deals in airships?" Rubbard sat silently for a moment.

"Yer best bet twould be dey bar…All sorts o' shady men in der." Rubbard scratched his dry forehead as Balthier grabbed his gun. He set a few coins on the table and took the cleaning kit as he left the room. He gave the old man a weak solute as he exited the shop. Rubbard rubbed his hair as he thought about who would know of any airships for sail. Balthier had been a good friend to him. He even paid him for things he would've let him have for free. The least he could do was help him further his ambition.

--

Balthier walked into the bar and found himself a booth near the entrance. This was one of the nicer bars in the city; it had large windows behind the bar that let the drunks have a nice view of the city. Balthier used this downtime to get his gun repaired. He could handle be unarmed for awhile, but Balthier had already made an unfriendly reputation. He grew frustrated at the jammed gun and set it on the table. Balthier scanned the bar, his eyes stopped on something that seemed very out of place. Across the room sat a woman, not only a woman but a woman who appeared to have rabbit ears growing from her head. She had long silver hair and her light brown face was framed with an ornate helmet. Balthier had seen many odd creatures that looked nothing like Humes, but he had never seen something like her. He folded his hands and placed them in front of his face.

Fran sat at the washed wooden table with a quiver of arrows in front of her. She widdled another piece of wood into a thin stick and tied an arrow head to it. She had been aware of the strange looks she had gotten since she arrived. One table full of burly Humes in particular caught her attention. She continued her fletching as two of the men from the table got up took seats at hers. The two men sat grinning as she set her finished arrow onto the table.

"You're a curious looking woman." A slender man with long black hair slid his chair closer to hers. The men glared at her intently. She remained unaffected by them.

"I'm a Viera." She said mechanically.

"A Viera? I think I've heard of them!" A bald man from across the table exclaimed. "Aren't they women that are supposed to grant your every sexual desire?"

Fran flinched and set her half finished arrow onto the table. This was not the first Hume to say that to her, but it still irritated her.

"That would be Vixen you're thinking of." She said vigorously scraping the wood off another potential arrow. The men looked at each other and grinned.

"Well…That doesn't mean you can't help us out…Yeh?" The black haired man reached towards her soft slender hand. Without hesitation Fran picked up an arrow and plunged it into the center of his grungy thin hand. The man yelpped as he immediately tried to pull his hand away, but the arrow had pierced too far into the wood of the table.

Balthier sat in awe as he watched this woman or Viera as she called herself. The uninvited men that had joined her stood up and helped their wounded companion. Balthier got to his feet as well and strode over.

"You little bitch!" He said as he snapped the arrow in half and pulled the wood from his gored hand.

"Now my boys, is there a problem here?" Balthier said calmly as he slung his broken gun over his shoulder.

"None of your business!" The man harshly barked at him. Balthier looked to the ceiling for a moment in thought. He sniffled as he smacked the man across the head with his gun.

"You were being quite rude." He smiled as he looked down at the solemn looking female. Balthier pointed his gun at the center of the second man's forehead and he backed off. The men scurried back to their table in shame and sat next to their snickering comrades. Balthier took a bow to the youthful female.

"Balthier, Sky pirate." He introduced himself. He heard a thunk and watched the bullet that was jammed in his gun fall to the floor. "Oh, his hard head fixed my gun!" He muttered happily to himself.

"Sky pirate?" Fran asked raising her white eyebrows.

"That's right, may I have your name beautiful Viera…Warrior?" Balthier slyly sat at the table. Fran stared at him. She wasn't sure if he was just another sleazy Hume or if he was being sincere. His intentions were hard to read. She found it strange that he had used the words beautiful warrior to describe her. Fran was used to being referred to as a sexy lady or any other slur of that kind.

"'Ey?" A strong broad shouldered Bangaa came up and tapped Balthier on the shoulder. He seemed to cringe for a moment before looking up at the man with a smile. Without even being asked he sat down at the table.

"Rubbard tells me you are looking for an airship, yeh?" The Bangaa said scratching the side of his face as he eyed the woman across the table. Fran wondered why her table was so popular; she had just wanted to fletch some arrows in peace. Instead of leaving she listened intently.

"A Sky Pirate without and Airship?" She laughed. Balthier placed his index finger up and opened his mouth to speak. He remained silent and curled his finger back into his palm.

"Yes, but not for long if this good sir has what I need." He said quickly returning his attention to the sales man.

"I can give you one for 40, 000 gil…" He said firmly. Most salesmen would lie and raise the price, but this salesman looked Balthier solidly in the eye. He meant what he said.

"Well…I need another ten thousand…Give me some time?" Balthier asked setting his money on the table.

"Take it now or forget it." The serious creature growled. Fran reached up and set her money pouch next to his. Balthier looked at it and then looked at her.

"That should sure it up." She said steadily. Balthier eyed her in surprise.

The Bangaa snatched up the bags and handed Balthier a key. "Done deal, she's at port nine in the aerodome." The Bangaa got up in a hurry, nearly knocking the chair down behind him. Balthier was silent as he grinned at the key in his hand.

"You want something from me now then?" He asked the young warrior girl. In his experience people didn't lend him money without wanting anything in return. Though a woman lending him money was a completely new experience for him.

"I'm curious to see what riding an Airship feels like." Balthier nodded and plucked his gun from the table.

"Well then, nameless woman. Would you like to accompany me to see it?" Fran stood up and strapped her arrows onto her waist. From the floor she picked up a long bow and slung it over her shoulders.

"My name is Fran." She said as she walked outside with the young Sky Pirate. He grabbed her hand and laid a light kiss on it.

"Lovely to meet you." Fran had no words at this gesture. He did not seem overly intent on undressing her with his eyes, nor did he seem intimidated by her. Even though she towered over him in height.

Balthier kept his head down as he passed a judge of Archades. He looked behind him when he passed and let out a sigh. He noticed Fran watching his actions.

"I have a bit of bad blood with them. It's a long story." He ran his fingers through his hair and regained his cool. They reached the aerodome and Balthier had grown increasingly fidgety as he got closer to his new ship. Today would be the start of a whole new sort of adventure for him. They opened the port doors and glared up at the ship. It was sandy and the paint job was worn down. The stairway was missing a step near the bottom and one of the windows had a crack in it.

"It appears that we've been scammed." Fran said calmly running her finger over the dusty ship. Balthier put his foot up on a crate and crossed his arms.

"It's perfect. Now I can fix her up and make her mi—Ours." He grinned to his new partner of crime.

"What makes you think I'd be a sky pirate?" Fran frowned. She had never agreed with any such deal, though the thought aroused a certain curiosity in her.

"You helped pay for the ship, its only fair you be allowed to join me." He said confidently stepping aboard the ship. He held his hand out the doorway. Fran took his smooth hand and he helped her aboard.

"Oh yes, Fran you and I shall be the terror of the skies."


End file.
